Emily Rodda is one of Australia’s best-known children’s book authors. She has written over 100 books, including the internationally best-selling Deltora Quest and Rowan of Rin series, and has won the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Book of the Year Award for Younger Readers a record six times.
We asked Emily a few questions about her new book, Scary Mary and the Stripe Spell, and writing fantasy for kids. Read on!
Emily Rodda
Tell us about your new book, Scary Mary and the Stripe Spell!
ER: It’s a chapter book for younger kids, ideal for reading aloud, with lively, funny illustrations by Lucinda Gifford. It’s the first in a series called Monty’s Island.
Monty lives on his island with his best friend Tawny the Fearless Lion and a ‘family’ of other friends—Bunchy the Magician, who is an elephant, Marigold the Clever Cook, who runs the Island Café, Silent Sir Wise, an owl who knows everything, and Clink the Shipwrecked Pirate, who is a parrot with a peg leg.
When the Islanders are warned that Scary Mary and her terrible pirate crew are heading their way, Bunchy tries to make the island invisible, but thanks to a malfunctioning wand her spell goes very badly wrong. The pirates take possession of the island, but Monty, who’s famous for his good ideas, thinks of a clever plan to defeat them—with a little help from the island’s monster, the Hairy Horrible.
This is the start of a brand new series from you. What sort of things can readers expect to find in it?
ER: Humour, warmth, weird insects, birds, beasts and plants, shocks and surprises, magical events, visitors both welcome and unwelcome, quick-thinking, bright ideas, scary bits, action and adventure, happy endings. The useful items that Monty finds washed up on the beach each morning always play their part as he and his friends face and eventually triumph over the problems and dangers that threaten them. Scary Mary and the Stripe Spell will be followed by Beady Bold and the Yum-Yams and Elvis Eager and the Golden Egg.
What was your inspiration for this series?
ER: My first book, Something Special, grew from a story I told to our 7-year-old daughter. It makes me feel a very old author indeed to admit that this book grew from stories I told our first grandchild! I’ve always loved islands, which are small worlds of their own. So when I started telling stories to my grandson, it was natural for me to make up tales about an island, safe but surprising, where talking animals lived together and where pirates came to visit. He was very young then, and we used plastic jungle animals, painted wooden pirates, the model of a ship, and things made out of play dough to dramatise the stories. When I wanted to write a chapter book for the age group he is now ( 6+), because he was clearly ready for longer texts as bedtime reading, the island stories came to mind. Transformed, of course, still in simple language but featuring more action, more excitement, more gadgets, more plans and ‘bright ideas’.
What was it like to see the story illustrated by Lucinda Gifford for the first time?
ER: It was great. Seeing the roughs often made me laugh out loud. Lucinda has caught the characters, the tone of the book and the spirit of the island perfectly.
What do you love the most about writing children’s fantasy?
ER: I suppose that more than anything I love the fact that in a children’s fantasy anything is possible, as long as the story’s internal logic works.
Who is your favorite fictional hero or heroine?
ER: This is just too hard to answer. It’s impossible to decide. There are so many.
What do you hope readers will discover in Scary Mary and the Stripe Spell?
ER: Fun. Excitement. Laughter. A satisfying reading experience, shared or alone. Maybe for some it might even be the first step in a lifetime of reading. That’s what all writers for children must hope for.
Any advice for aspiring children’s book authors?
ER: Think like a child. Demolish the fences that adulthood puts around your imagination, and believe that anything is possible. Ask your local bookshop or librarian what children actually like to read, as opposed to what is fashionable. Then, don’t worry about what anyone else might think. Just write, and enjoy.
And finally, what’s up next for you?
ER: Not sure. We’ll see.
Thanks Emily!
Find out more about Emily Rodda here
Scary Mary and the Stripe Spell
Monty's Island: Book 1
On a tiny island far away, in a sea that ripples with magic, Monty never knows what he might find…
Monty, Tawny and friends receive some startling news: Scary Mary and her pirate crew are on their way, looking for a new island to call home. What can they do? There's no way they can hide - especially when Bunchy accidentally turns the whole island stripy with her new magic wand. It's going to take one of Monty's best ideas to save them!...
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Comments
March 23, 2020 at 5:00 pm
Emily Rodda is a favourite in our household.
We’ve been devouring Deltora Quest, Three Doors Trilogy and His name was Walter.
Fantastic stuff! thank you Emily!